BEWK5Q

The focus is on the idea that a business can make an ethical decision and what it takes for them to do so - how ethics works in the organization, how leadership plays into the ethical decision making, and the need for an ethical organizational culture.  Also discussed are several of the unique 21st century issues facing business today.

Theme 1:  Ethical Organizational Decision Making Can Be Encouraged

Ethical behavior is something that people talk about but if an organization and the people in it are not committed to its importance then it will not succeed.  The theme this week focuses on how we can make businesses create an ethical environment.

Read/View:

· Ethical Decision Making – Some Examples

· Compliance as a Subtle Precursor to Ethical Corrosion: A Strength-Based Approach as a Way Forward

· Creating an Ethical Organizational Culture

· Do the right thing six ways create culture ethics in any organization

· Courage

· Role of the Board in Creating an Ethical Culture

· Barriers to Creating an Ethical Corporate Culture

· Why a Transparent Culture is Good for Business

 

Theme 2:  Unique Ethical Organizational Issues

Here are several 21st century ethical issues that feature organizational decisions.

Read/View:

· Genetic Engineering in the Workplace, Read My Genes: Genetic Screening in the Workplace

· Ethics and Genetics: Susceptibility Testing in the Workplace    (I don't recommend genetic testing as a final paper topic)

· Why Privacy Matters

· Big Chocolate Child Labor

· What Will a Future Without Secrets Look Like?

· Apple Failing to Protect Chinese Child Labor

· Marketing Ethics   

· Marketing to Children: Accepting Responsibility (Not available as a final paper topic)

· Ethical Marketing - Explore the Strategy of Ethical Marketing

· Is Business Bluffing Ethical?

· Getting to the Bottom of the Triple Bottom Line

· Ethics and the Triple Bottom Line

Notes:

As we continue the second half of our business ethics journey, let’s take a brief moment to recap where we have been. This is important in order to see the course as a continuum where the topics are inter-related. With this in mind, this week builds on the introductory consideration of ethics and how it can be defined and applied, the theoretical underpinnings, the impact of values on ethical decision making, the special ethical issues presented by whistle-blowing, management decision making, and financial and governance issues inside the corporate organization by taking a look at the ethical culture within the corporation (seen primarily through the eyes of its leader), and the unique ethical problems arising out of marketing. In particular, with respect to leadership, we will focus on the dynamics between a company’s leader and its employees and some general workplace concerns.

In considering the ethical leadership issue, still keep in mind the personal microscope through which you viewed ethics in week one in introducing the ethics concept, as well as the analytical and theoretical framework we examined. This is important because leaders in many instances bring to their organizations their own biases and ways of looking at ethics, and these weigh heavily on the type of ethical environment these leaders create and maintain.

As you prepare for this week, think about how you would define a leader and what is the leader’s role in shaping the ethical environment of a company—indeed this is Learning Activity #1. In responding to Learning Activity #1, feel free to share your own personal experiences as a leader or instances where you have been led. Secondly, ask yourself how you feel about the longstanding debate as to whether leaders are born or whether they are made.

It is clearly not possible to cover in one week all of the issues that arise in the context of ethical leadership and employee relations. Such issues are often the subject of an entire semester review, and so for our purposes we will take a somewhat abbreviated, but yet thoughtful look at ethical leadership and the work environment in general.

As you consider the issue of leadership this week, continue to ask yourself what type of culture or ethical climate the leader sets for the organization. One of the ways in which the ethical climate comes through is reflected in the way the organization markets its products and services. In other words, how and to what extent does the organization display a sense of right and wrong in the marketplace as it interacts with its stakeholders?

As we look at the issue of marketing ethics, it is important to keep in mind not only the idea that the leader sets the tone and creates that ethical climate for the organization, but also to stay focused on our introductory consideration of ethics and how it can be defined and applied, and the theoretical underpinnings.  

In considering the marketing ethics issue, our main focus will be on another key stakeholder—the customer. Just how far should a corporation go in promoting and marketing its products is one of the questions you should be asking yourself? Perhaps your answer is a reflection of the personal introspection you did in week 1, or perhaps it is a reflection of what you think about ethical leadership. One of the readings for the week, “Marketing to Children: Accepting Responsibility”, deals with the issue of marketing to children. As you read this article, think about whether there should be a different ethical standard when we are looking at marketing efforts directed toward children.

It has been argued by scholars that ethical issues in marketing arise because of the pressure to achieve performance goals. Such pressure it is asserted emboldens the salesperson, for example, to take any necessary ethical shortcuts to close a deal and reap the benefits of a huge bonus. What do you think of this contention? Is this a situation where the corporation applauds the salesperson’s efforts and takes no action to correct his ethical lapses, making it likely that they will be repeated?

What do you think of the concept of “manipulative marketing”, where the central premise is on the ethics of preying on the psyche of a particular individual or group—making all types of claims to people struggling with their weight, for example that you have a 'magic bullet' for weight loss?  Here, we begin to focus on one specific conflict between ethical values:  the value of autonomy as opposed to the value of paternalism.  The question will revolve around how much respect we wish to accord individuals to determine for themselves what to eat, for example, as opposed to thinking we have to protect individuals from those who would try to convince them that they can eat all they wish and still lose weight, if they will only send $19.95 for the "Wonderfast" magic pills!

From the perspective of those marketing the "Wonderfast" pills, assuming that the pills do something to help with weight loss (whether give energy, or help suppress appetite, or at least supplement vitamins for the one dieting) and that they aren't just a placebo, the dilemma will probably turn on the question of just how cut and dried the advertising content ought to be.  Everyone knows dieting is unpleasant. . . .  an advertising campaign that emphasizes that is probably not going to be terribly successful.  For the marketer, the ethical values conflict will be between the obvious one of wanting to be successful and earn money, but more particularly between the ethical value of truthful content as opposed to that of inspiring their potential customers to take on the challenge of the diet - with the help of "Wonderfast" of course - and hopefully to succeed.  I will venture to state that no ethical marketer really want to "market" a bunch of lies about a product that truly does nothing.  At the same time, someone marketing diet aids really doesn't want to tell the potential dieter that there is no easy way. . . .  and yet, that is probably the strict, unvarnished, truth.